Chapter 14: Emily vs Lily

Emily summoned her rapier, and Lily summoned a bow.

Lily began firing her bow, arrows materializing out of thin air. They were made with her magion.

She fired at Emily with incredible speed—almost as fast as [Accelerate]. But Emily dodged and parried everything. Her eyes glowed light blue and had a diamond shape in them.

Was that due to her skill?

Lily kept firing, and Emily kept dodging and blocking, moving slightly closer to her each time.

Lily fired another arrow, but this one was different from the others. It was faster than my [Accelerate] skill, and wind seemed to rotate around it.

It flew directly at Emily's head, but she parried it again.

I could see the shock on Lily's face as she struggled to believe what just happened.

Lily was now within reach of Emily's blade. Emily tried to pierce Lily with a stabbing motion, but the attack passed through her. Lily's figure turned into a shadow, and she appeared behind Emily, ready to fire at point-blank range. However, before she could release the arrow, Emily, in one swift motion, swung her sword and sliced through Lily's bow.

She didn't even look. It was as if she knew exactly where and how Lily would attack. Lily quickly jumped back.

"You're pretty good," Lily said, out of breath.

"But can you block this attack?"

[Multiple].

Lily was preparing a skill. It seemed as though it would take her a while to use it.

"Did you think I'd allow that?!"

[Icicle Darts], she said as she threw her rapier, now completely covered in ice, toward Lily.

It moved so fast that it left a wind current behind, but once again, it flew through Lily. She reappeared a distance behind Emily.

Her skill was ready. Ten arrows appeared above her head as she drew her bow. Wind swirled around the arrow's tip as she fired, and the arrows above her followed, all targeting Emily.

Emily quickly placed her hand on the ground.

"Ice Wall!" she shouted, invoking her spell.

A wall of ice, slightly taller than her, appeared and blocked the arrows.

I could see Emily was relieved as she took a deep breath, but not even a second later, the wall began to crack.

Her face was fulled with suprise as she watched the crack grow larger by the second.

She closed her eyes briefly, then reopened them. This time, her eyes glowed purple, with a square shape in them.

An arrow finally pierced the ice wall, but Emily slightly tilted her head, allowing it to graze her cheek. The wound disappeared in seconds due to [Regeneration].

It was as if she knew exactly how and where the arrow would pierce through the wall.

Emily's eyes began to bleed, likely a side effect of using that strange skill that altered their appearance.

She was clearly exhausted.

Lily was also panting, which was understandable. She had been using her magion to create arrows and fire them repeatedly, consuming even more magion.

"I wonder what Miss Liz thinks as she stands there, arms crossed, watching everything unfold."

***

(Miss Liz's POV)

Hmmm… This is truly a splendid battle, but it still doesn't come close to my previous students.

If they fought, the entire training grounds would be destroyed.

Emily is proficient with her rapier and knows when to adapt her strategy.

Lily, on the other hand, sticks to the same approach, trying to overpower her opponent through her mastery of skills and magic.

The match between Theo and Silver was also intriguing.

I wonder if one of these students will achieve what my previous ones could not and become the 5th Progenitor.

Especially Silver—though he's weak now, I can sense that his potential surpasses not only everyone here but even my previous students.

***

(Silver's POV)

The match had lasted longer than mine and Theo's.

Both Emily and Lily were tired. I knew the next attack would decide the match.

The ice wall crumbled under the relentless damage. Emily summoned her rapier again, and Lily readied her bow.

This time, Emily stood still, preparing to fire a projectile of her own.

An ice shard formed at the tip of her rapier, while wind swirled around Lily's arrow.

They shot at the same time. Their projectiles collided, but Lily's arrow was stronger, piercing through the ice shard and striking Emily in the shoulder.

Emily passed out.

I quickly used [Accelerate] to catch her before she hit the ground.

A moment later, Lily also passed out from magion depletion. This happens when your magion count hits 1, causing your body to shut down and restore magion naturally through sleep. We called this phenomenon Second Sleep. The length of Second Sleep depends on your magion limit, the larger, the longer you sleep.

As I held her in my arms, I felt a strange mix of relief and guilt, but more importantly I was proud of how strong she had become. She was my subject, after all.

"The match is a draw. Silver, take Emily to the infirmary," Miss Liz ordered.

"And Theo… Where is Theo?" she asked angrily.

"I don't know. He probably left," I replied while carrying Emily.

"Fine. I'll carry Lily," she sighed.

She'd carry someone bigger than her? How?

"Miss Liz, how will…"

So that's how she'll carry her.

"Yes?" she asked, carrying Lily.

"No… It's nothing," I said, walking to the infirmary, regretting that I even asked.

She wasn't physically carrying Lily. She used some sort of skill, causing Lily to float beside her.

We didn't speak until we arrived at the infirmary. I gently placed Emily on a bed.

"Thank you, Silver. But you need to be more careful," she said in a serious tone, thanking me for carrying Emily.

"Sorry?" I asked, confused by what she meant.

"Emily is your subject, right?" she said confidently while placing Lily on another bed.

"H-How did you—"

"You were subconsciously sending magion to her body, which caused your flower ring to become visible," she explained, taking off one of her gloves.

"Look, here," she said, holding up her index finger.

The same flower mark on my finger appeared on hers. But instead of one petal, hers had five.

"So, you're also a King?" I asked, surprised.

She nodded.

"The correct term is Monarch. That mark on your finger is proof of your status. You must hide it from others at all costs," she said while putting her glove back on.

"Why?" I asked.

"Your enemies could target your subject and use her to get to you," she said calmly, a hint of sadness in her tone.

"What I mean is, learn to properly control your magion when you come into contact with Emily," she said, turning to leave the room.

"Thank you for telling me, Miss Liz," I said gratefully.

"Yes… Oh, I almost forgot. Could you bring that rude child to the infirmary?" she commanded before leaving.

This will be the second time I carry him without him even knowing. I sighed.